The number of people applying for new unemployment-insurance benefits in New York state in the week ending Feb. 22 plummeted by 3,572, or nearly 16 percent, to 19,115, according to new U.S. Department of Labor data.
It’s the lowest level of first-time jobless claims in the state so far this year. The data indicates that New York employers are handing out fewer pink slips than in recent weeks, a sign the job market could be strengthening.
Fewer layoffs in the state’s construction, food services, and retail trade industries led the decline in claims in the latest week, according to a U.S. Department of Labor news release issued Thursday.
This marks the third straight week that New York’s initial jobless claims decreased.
The number of New Yorkers continuing to receive unemployment benefits also fell in the week ending Feb. 22 to 255,186 from 259,525 the week before. The continuing-claims number is the second lowest reported so far in 2014.
The state data is not seasonally adjusted.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com